Third Grade Fluency Report
Third Quarter
What is being FLUENT all about?
Here is what the state means when they say FLUENT:
"Wherever the word fluently appears in a content standard, the word means quickly and accurately. It means more or less the same as when someone is said to be fluent in a foreign language. To be fluent is to flow: Fluent isn’t halting, stumbling, or reversing oneself. A key aspect of fluency in this sense is that it is not something that happens all at once in a single grade but requires attention to student understanding along the way. It is important to ensure that sufficient practice and extra support are provided at each grade to allow all students to meet the standards that call explicitly for fluency."
This is why there are high expectations for fact fluency in third grade! Students are given 15 minutes every day to practice their facts during Math Workshop! Nightly practice at home is also important! Being fluent in basic math facts will ensure your child greater success during math instruction in grades 4-6.
"Wherever the word fluently appears in a content standard, the word means quickly and accurately. It means more or less the same as when someone is said to be fluent in a foreign language. To be fluent is to flow: Fluent isn’t halting, stumbling, or reversing oneself. A key aspect of fluency in this sense is that it is not something that happens all at once in a single grade but requires attention to student understanding along the way. It is important to ensure that sufficient practice and extra support are provided at each grade to allow all students to meet the standards that call explicitly for fluency."
This is why there are high expectations for fact fluency in third grade! Students are given 15 minutes every day to practice their facts during Math Workshop! Nightly practice at home is also important! Being fluent in basic math facts will ensure your child greater success during math instruction in grades 4-6.
Three Fact Fluency Tests
- Students are assessed at the end of every grading period on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division fluency.
- The addition/subtraction assessment has 16 problems. Students should be able to complete this assessment in 10 minutes, but can be given up to 12 minutes.
- The multiplication and division assessments are given separately. The multiplication assessment has 48 problems and the division assessment has 45 problems. Students are given 4 minutes to complete each of those assessments.
- Remember that a score of MEETING is expected by the end of the year! Anyone receiving a DEVELOPING or BEGINNING will need to keep persevering and growing those neurons!! Anyone who is EXTENDING will be working on above grade level fluency!
How can I Keep Growing?
The state standard expects students to be MEETING the grade level expectation by the end of the school year. If your child has earned a BEGINNING or DEVELOPING score, this does not mean they will not ever MEET the expectation, it just means they are not there, YET!
IXL is a great resource for practicing addition and subtraction. Supporting your child in the practice of their multiplication/division fact sleeves every night will also ensure that they grow and develop fluency in those domains as well.
I appreciate the time, effort, and support that you give daily to your kiddos! They appreciate you, too!! If you have any questions about fluency please do not hesitate to contact me!